Matanuska Glacier

The largest glacier accessible by car in the United States

The Matanuska Glacier is an active glacier that you can actually walk onto with tennis shoes. For $30 that is. $25 for Alaska residents – as of July 2017. It’s a beautiful 2-hour drive from Anchorage through the Mendenhall Valley. The Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site is located at Mile 101 on the Glenn Highway National Scenic Byway. The recreation site has 12 campsites on a gravel loop road, water pump, toilets, fire pits, and picnic tables. The Edge Nature Trail begins at the rest area and provides a 20-minute walk through the forest to glacier viewing platforms. Summer activities include hiking, glacier trekking and river rafting. Winter activities include skiing, snowshoeing and snow machining.

Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site is adjacent to the Glenn Highway Scenic Byway at milepost 101. Easy accessibility off the highway provides excellent views of the Matanuska Glacier which creates the headwaters of the Matanuska River. The 300 acre recreation site provides glacier viewing beginning at the parking lot and extends along the interpretive nature trail. Although no access is provided to the glacier from the recreation site it provides some of the safest and best public viewing opportunities within the area. The site is open until closed by winter snow and ice conditions.